Bookkeeping. Payroll. Management Accounts.
VAT RETURN · NORFOLK & UK-WIDE
Registration, scheme advice and Making Tax Digital filing, handled properly and submitted on time. We keep the records straight all year, so the quarter passes without the usual scramble and the figure you file is one you can trust.
ACCOUNTING EXCELLENCE: BOOKKEEPING TEAM OF THE YEAR
DIGITAL RECORDS AND DIGITAL FILING
COMBINED FINANCE EXPERIENCE
TRUSTED BY NORFOLK BUSINESSES
SOUND FAMILIAR?
VAT is unforgiving. The deadline does not move, the penalties are automatic and the rules on what you can and cannot reclaim are easy to get wrong. Most business owners we meet aren’t worried about the maths, they’re worried about what they’ve missed.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
Whether you’re registering for the first time or handing over a VAT account you’ve run for years, we take on the whole job, the preparation, the filing and the conversations with HMRC.
We check whether you need to register, handle the application with HMRC and get you set up properly from day one.
Standard, flat rate, cash accounting or annual — we work out which scheme leaves your business better off.
We reconcile your records, check the treatment of every transaction and prepare a return you can rely on.
Digital records and digital submission through QuickBooks and Xero, so you are compliant without thinking about it.
We work to a schedule that gets your return ready early, with reminders long before HMRC starts counting.
As your authorised agent we deal with HMRC directly, so questions and correspondence do not land on your desk.
HOW IT WORKS
We reconcile, check and file. You get a plain-English summary of what you owe and why, well before the deadline.
LET'S TALK
Book a free, no-obligation 30-minute consultation. We’ll look at your current VAT position, check you’re on the right scheme, and show you exactly how we’d run it.
A VAT return is the quarterly summary you send HMRC showing the VAT you have charged your customers and the VAT you have paid on your own purchases. The difference is either paid to HMRC or refunded to you. It has to be filed digitally, on time, and the figures have to be supported by proper records.
You must register once your taxable turnover passes the registration threshold in any rolling twelve-month period, or if you expect to pass it within the next thirty days. Some businesses register voluntarily below the threshold, usually to reclaim VAT on purchases or to look more established to larger customers. We will look at your figures and tell you honestly which applies to you.
It depends on your turnover, your margins and how much VAT you pay on purchases. The standard scheme, the flat rate scheme, cash accounting and annual accounting all suit different businesses, and the wrong choice can cost you money every quarter. We review your numbers, recommend the scheme that leaves you better off and handle the paperwork to move you onto it.
Making Tax Digital means VAT-registered businesses must keep digital records and file VAT returns through compatible software rather than typing figures into the HMRC portal. It already applies to all VAT-registered businesses. If you are with us you are compliant by default, because we work in QuickBooks and Xero and file digitally on your behalf.
Most businesses file quarterly, with the return and the payment both due one calendar month and seven days after the quarter ends. Some businesses file monthly, usually because they are regularly in a refund position, and others use annual accounting. We will set you up on the frequency that suits your cash flow.
HMRC operates a points-based penalty system. You collect a point for each late submission and once you reach the threshold for your filing frequency you receive a fine, with further fines for every late return after that. Late payment carries separate interest and penalties. The simplest fix is not missing them, which is exactly what our reminder and preparation schedule is designed to prevent.
You can reclaim VAT on goods and services bought for business use, provided you hold a valid VAT invoice. The complications are the in-between items: fuel and mileage, entertaining, mobile phones, vehicles and anything used partly at home. These are where most errors happen, so we review them properly rather than making an assumption.
Yes. We take on VAT-registered businesses at any point in the year. We review what has already been filed, make sure the records are in order and pick up from the current quarter. If there are errors in earlier returns we will tell you and explain the options for putting them right.
Yes. Once you authorise us as your agent we can speak to HMRC on your behalf, respond to queries and handle correspondence about your VAT account. Most clients tell us this is the part they value most.
Because VAT stops being something you worry about. You get a qualified team who know your business, records kept properly all year rather than reconstructed in the last week of the quarter, and a return that is prepared, checked and explained before it goes anywhere near HMRC. We were finalists in the 2023 Accounting Excellence Awards for Bookkeeping Team of the Year, and we have been looking after Norfolk businesses since 2021.